Drove up to Hamilton at 630 this morning and picked a 20cube truck. Drove it home and have just finished loading my household into it. About to do a 36 something hour round trip to new farm on South island. Be back sometime tuesday morning to do another load in 10 days time. Hope to have the entire farm moved by June. Cows and all.

Sorry Craig, I've not kept up with this properly. So, you have sold the old farm and the whole family will move south?

Your place at Te Kuiti was probably the best-looking farm I've ever seen.

yep moving sucks. After all the times we've moved for the RAAF we have it pretty down pat these days. Still an upheaval however.

When we shifted from the BOP to Southland in 1995 it was the best move of our business life. No grass just hay for those moos for a couple of weeks and they shift well. We are now selling that Southland farm at the end of this month. Back in the BOP for a warmer retirement. Hope you have a dry winter and a wet summer!

Good luck Craig. Ive had a few farm shifts , none as far as you're going but its a stressfull time .

All the best.

.

Good luck with the move. Moved around a lots myself with family and dog pack. Always a bit of stress and strain involved. Hope all goes well.

.

well that turned into a mission. We reached wellington and the ferry, to find we had a flat tire. No problem as we had a jack. Except it didnt work. Rang the rental companies roadside assist and got told no one wants to come help you at this time of night. So we limped the truck onto the ferry and then at picton had to wait 3 hours for a tire shop to open so we could jack it up and repair it. Which meant we would miss the return ferry that evening. We raced as fast as we could down to new farm, unloaded in less than an hour and sped back up country to find we missed loading by 10 minutes. So spent a night there waiting for next ferry at 7 in morning.

Two more loads of household to go, then about 11 truckloads of cattle with each truck carrying about 50 head, and probably two truck loads of farm equipment and we are done.

Sounds like a mission, good luck mate.

It would seem dairy farms have got a lot bigger since I was a boy

That's a lot of work Craig, how big is the new place and where is it located?

We moved two families 2,400 miles cross country last year and I drove it pulling trailers twice.

I had a moving company move most of our stuff. No cattle though, we moved to a farm so we'll have to start cattle here.

What's James going to do for shooting now?

James is a shooting genie. He finds hunting everywhere.

New farm is about 400 hectares ( just under 1000 Acres). Its currently milking 700 cows which will allow us to put on staff and take some time off for ourselves. It is just south of Reefton on west coast. Fallow deer, Ducks and a world class trout fishery on the property. Red deer across the road,Chamois within 30 minutes drive and Thar with in a couple of hours. One of the more interesting aspects is that its right on the major gold seam of the west coast and has an active gold mine on it. I dont know much about gold mining but will be keen to get involved when I get down there.

quote:

Originally posted by shankspony:
James is a shooting genie. He finds hunting everywhere.

New farm is about 400 hectares ( just under 1000 Acres). Its currently milking 700 cows which will allow us to put on staff and take some time off for ourselves. It is just south of Reefton on west coast. Fallow deer, Ducks and a world class trout fishery on the property. Red deer across the road,Chamois within 30 minutes drive and Thar with in a couple of hours. One of the more interesting aspects is that its right on the major gold seam of the west coast and has an active gold mine on it. I dont know much about gold mining but will be keen to get involved when I get down there.

Sounds great, Google Earth shows a bloody big mine there off of Hwy 7. I'll have to get down that way one of these years. Over 50 trips to New Zealand and I've never been on the South Island.

Well you now have a place to stay.

Yeah thats the area, quite a few mines dotted over the general area. Both for gold and coal.

quote:

Originally posted by shankspony:
It is just south of Reefton on west coast.

I imagine thats some nice country. I have been through Murchison a few times, but thats about as close as I have got to where you are. Good luck with the move.

quote:

Originally posted by shankspony:
Well you now have a place to stay.

Yeah thats the area, quite a few mines dotted over the general area. Both for gold and coal.

Thanks for that offer Craig.

Graeme is coming up to the US to watch some Tennis this summer and is going to stay at our place for a couple of days.

Just back from second trip delivering gear. The farm manager there at the moment showed me some photos of red deer and pigs on the property too, which i didnt realise it had, so thats another bonus. Also saw about 20 Canadian geese in a roadside paddock, so looks like it will be a hunting paradise.

It does sound like a cool place Shanks

I would like to meet you one day, after many years of reading your posts. Now you are down south we are more likely to run into each other...

Theres a few of you southern gents Id like to meet too, and hopefully we can make a plan.

Followed a truck load of farm machinery onto the Interislander this morning. Was it yours? We are on our way down to Gore to make sure our dairy farm sale goes through OK this week. Returning via the West Coast if the bridges aren't washed-out!

quote:

Originally posted by shankspony:
hopefully we can make a plan.

Moose hunting of course.

I like my chances seeing something a little bit higher.

The Pom, no, machinery heads down on the 2nd. Ill take final load down on about the 8th and then head back up and finish the last jobs here. ( We subdivided 18 land parcels and still have some fencing to complete) before I eventually head down for good on about the 12 or 15th.

Are they a parochial lot on the Sth Island towards you invading Nth Islanders.

Im not sure. I think mostly it depends on how you get on with people.

Thats what I mean..how they get on with 'blow ins' lol.

On the West Coast they are pleased to see new blood so all the kids aren't born with 6 fingers. In Southland the sheep farmers resent the invading dairy farmers until they want to sell their farm to one.

Drove past your new place today. Farms look well around there. Vastly improved in recent years. Surprised to see centre pivot irrigators so close to the west coast. Feral goats grazing beside SHW6 a bit farther north need attention!

Yeah believe it or not but that area gets lower rainfall than the waikato. Shaded by the Paparoas.

quote:

Originally posted by the Pom:
Drove past your new place today. Farms look well around there. Vastly improved in recent years. Surprised to see centre pivot irrigators so close to the west coast. Feral goats grazing beside SHW6 a bit farther north need attention!

Craig,

Get James down there and he'll get those goats sorted out for you before you're settled in.

None that I know of on my place. But yeah have seen a few on road around Murcheson

Craig,

Is there something that you're not telling us?



Gold struck at New Zealand's deepest mine could be worth $2b

The Snowy River Mine on the West Coast is near a historic mine that was also known for its riches.

Around 850 metres deep into the ground near Ikamatua on the West Coast is an abundance of quartz reef.

"This is the prize at the end of the mine if you like," said Snowy River Mine general manager Lincoln Smith.

A prize - because for each red marking, that's where the gold is.

It's the first time gold has been struck at Snowy River Mine, right on schedule.

"We were pretty confident it was there and we're happy to see it," Smith said.

That's because nearby Blackwater Mine has also produced gold before.



https://www.newshub.co.nz/home...uld-be-worth-2b.html

quote:

Originally posted by Fjold:
Craig,



Around 850 metres deep into the ground near Ikamatua on the West Coast is an abundance of quartz reef.



https://www.newshub.co.nz/home...uld-be-worth-2b.html

I be betting Craig likes it at the other end of the tape...850 metres up among the Thar.
I have been down to the shot face at Mt Isa 1800 plus metres...its hell shanks,stick with altitude lol.

quote:

Originally posted by Fjold:
Craig,

Is there something that you're not telling us?



Gold struck at New Zealand's deepest mine could be worth $2b

The Snowy River Mine on the West Coast is near a historic mine that was also known for its riches.

Around 850 metres deep into the ground near Ikamatua on the West Coast is an abundance of quartz reef.

"This is the prize at the end of the mine if you like," said Snowy River Mine general manager Lincoln Smith.

A prize - because for each red marking, that's where the gold is.

It's the first time gold has been struck at Snowy River Mine, right on schedule.

"We were pretty confident it was there and we're happy to see it," Smith said.

That's because nearby Blackwater Mine has also produced gold before.



https://www.newshub.co.nz/home...uld-be-worth-2b.html

Yep big news. Right across the road fro. Our place. Potentially one of richest mines in southern hemisphere.

When ya down at the prospectors shop pick up an extra pan for me too mate...i`m coming over lol.

Hah yep will do.

Surely you will do a bit of panning in between time on trout and deer.

Yep thats the plan. Got a couple of guys coming to show me best way to go about it.

Gold dredge next on the to buy list. Or at least a sluice, you can recover a lot if there is a lot.

Yeah its a possibility. W have an awesome guy operating the dredge on farm at moment and he seems to think the area outside his claim has a heap of potential.

Right I might have to come over and peg a claim lol.